CHAPTER EIGHT

THE MYSTERY OF THE DIVINE TRINITY 
IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

The matter of the Triune God is not a superficial theological doctrine. We need both to believe into and deeply enter into the mystery of the Divine Trinity. In the Bible, the Gospel of John and the book of Ephesians speak clearly about the mystery of the Divine Trinity; the Gospel of Matthew also reveals this divine truth to us.

THE DIVINE TRINITY IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Not a Matter of Being “in the Lord’s Name” 
but a Matter of the Mingling of the Triune God with Man

Matthew 28:19, the next to the last verse in the whole book of Matthew, says, “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Some versions render into the name as “in the name.” Many in Christianity quote this verse during baptism, and their reason for doing so is merely to do something “in the name.” To the Chinese, to do something in someone’s name equals carrying their flag, indicating that you represent that person. Thus, according to this way of thinking, when you do something in the name of the Triune God, it means that you are “carrying the Triune God’s flag” and that you are representing Him. For example, when an army is carrying the American flag, even if there are Mexicans in the army, their flag indicates that they are also fighting for America. Another example is that during monarchical times, when a little eunuch came with an imperial order, all the officials, regardless of their rank, had to bow down to receive it; if anyone opposed the order brought by this eunuch, this one was actually opposing the emperor. People in traditional Christianity delight in baptizing people “in the Lord’s name,” yet they do not know the deeper meaning of Matthew 28:19 concerning the union and mingling of God and man.

After studying the Bible in depth for many years, I have seen that baptizing people into the name of the Father, the Son, and the [410] Holy Spirit is far more meaningful than simply baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Into indicates union. To baptize people into the name of the Triune God is to bring them into a spiritual and mystical union with the Triune God.

The Triune God in Matthew 1

The Gospel of Matthew refers to the Triune God at the very beginning of the first chapter. Verse 23b has the phrase God with us. In what way is God with us? Does this simply mean that although we were on the earth and He was in heaven, one day He came down from heaven to be with us because He loves us? In order to explain this, we must use the Bible to interpret the Bible. First, we need to see how it was that He came and what He did after His coming. The first half of verse 23 says, “The virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel.” Thus, He came by being conceived of a virgin, and He came also to be Emmanuel, which is translated, “God with us.”

Now we will go on to see how the virgin conceived a child. Verse 20 says, “That which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.” This means that One who was of the Holy Spirit had been begotten in Mary. Who is this One? The One who had been begotten in her was God Himself. This is too great a truth. However, almost all the Bible versions, including the Mandarin Union Version, do not translate this verse accurately to show forth this great truth. Most of the translations read, “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” This is nearly the same as what is said in verse 18—“Mary…was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit”—and it is still unclear who was conceived in Mary. In actuality, verse 20 explains verse 18, clearly showing that the One whom she conceived had been begotten in her through the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is not merely a matter of conception but of begetting, for this verse also indicates that there was One begotten in her. That this One was of the Holy Spirit means that He was out of God and came from God; God had been begotten in her. Here we can see God and the Holy Spirit.

Verses 21 through 23 say, “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. Now all this has happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name [411] Emmanuel.’” This means that the One who was born of Mary is Jesus as well as Emmanuel. He is one person, yet He has two names. He is Jesus, and this Jesus is Emmanuel. Jesus is a man, yet His name is Jehovah the Savior. This shows us that the Father has become Emmanuel by passing through the process of the Triune God. This process transpired with the Father entering into a virgin through the Spirit and being born of her with humanity. The One who was born was Jesus—the Son. Who is Jesus? He is God with man. In addition, in the name Jesus, Je stands for Jehovah, and sus means “Savior” or “salvation.” At this point we can see that in Matthew 1 the revelation concerning the Triune God is complete and mysterious.

In brief, in reference to the Triune God, Matthew 1 says that God is with us and that He became Emmanuel. But how can He be with us? And how did He become Emmanuel? The first step is that He was begotten into a human virgin through the Spirit. The second step is that He came out of the human virgin and was born with humanity to be Jesus, who is the Savior, and the Son, who is both the Son of Man and the Son of God. He was actually the Triune God coming as our Savior to save us from our sins. Not only so, the third step is that He comes into us to be with us and to be our life and our all. If we study Matthew 1 carefully, we will see that this chapter is very rich and that it clearly reveals the Triune God at the outset. However, it does not discuss the Triune God as a theological doctrine; rather, it reveals how the Triune God passed through various processes to be our Savior, saving us from our sins and coming into us.

According to the letter, the story in Matthew 1 is merely about how Mary conceived a child of the Holy Spirit and begot a son whose name was Jesus and whom people called Emmanuel. It seems that it tells us only this much. When we receive revelation, however, we will see that this chapter tells us that the Triune God has been processed to become our Savior, who saves us from our sins and comes into us to be our life and our all for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose. We should not study the Bible merely according to the letter without any light or revelation. If we do this, all we will have is merely doctrines in letter. Rather, we need to ask God to give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation.

The Mystery of the Divine Trinity in Matthew 3

While it is not easy to find references to the Father, the Son, and [412] the Spirit in Matthew 2, the revelation concerning the Divine Trinity in Matthew 3 is very clear. Matthew 3:16-17 says, “Having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.” This portion reveals the Triune God and is a picture of the Divine Trinity—the Son rose up from the water, the Spirit descended upon the Son, and the Father spoke concerning the Son from heaven. This proves that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist simultaneously. This is for the accomplishing of God’s economy.